Hello! Your blog is fantastic, thank you for taking the time to answer all these questions! I've been studying concept art, and I'm nervous about the impact my gender will have on my career. In two years of full time art classes, I've heard my teachers mention a female artist twice, and only in passing. Are there many women working in industry, or am I in for an uphill battle?
SciFi/Fantasy has historically held a LOT more male artists than female artists, especially in concept art. However, this generation of artists has really taken huge steps to even the score. There are more top-level women working in the field today then ever before. Specifically in concept art Karla Ortiz is a shining example of a woman taking on huge blockbuster movie projects, most recently Dr. Strange. Terryl Whitlatch has designed more Star Wars and movie creatures than anyone. There are more women working in publishing and gaming, like Cynthia Sheppard and Loish.
For many more names I suggest the Women in Fantasy Illustration tumblr and the book Women of Wonder.
Also take into account that women were working in the concept art field but didn’t get the attention and praise they deserved, so many teachers don’t know about them. Milicent Patrick being a shining example. Didn’t know a woman created the Creature from the Black Lagoon? That’s because the director got jealous and chased her out of Hollywood. But her story is finally coming to light.
As to your question, will your gender hurt your career? I think that women still unfortunately have to contend with at least institutional (if not outright) sexism in all fields, especially one that has been white-male-dominated for so long. But I believe the Gamergate and Sad Puppies scandals were the last obnoxious death-rattle of those forces trying to keep women and minorities out of SFF. They failed and keep failing, and as more and more younger generation Art Directors and Producers are handed the reins, we’ll see these attitudes die out.
